Plan, manage and conduct meetings

Maintain focus in meetings

Common deviations away from meeting focus

Differences of opinion

You may wish to:

• Identify a time frame for discussion before a decision is made or voted on
• Allocate a specific time period for each person to contribute
• Direct the conversation, by dictating questions to specific people to either deviate discussions away from domineering participants or to involve passive people.

Maintain focus in meetings

Common deviations away from meeting focus

New topics introduced

The options to take include:

• Allow discussion of the new topic
• Table it for discussion at the end of the meeting in ‘other business’ if time allows
• Table it for discussion in a new meeting.

Conduct meetings within timelines

• It is important that the original meeting topics, as identified in the agenda, be introduced, discussed and acted upon within the predetermined time frame
• One of the most difficult tasks a Chairperson has is time management.

Conduct meetings within timelines

Time management techniques

• Only include items that are required in meetings
• Allocate tasks to be completed before meetings
• Start on time and end on time
• Allocate and notify times
• Ask participants to help with time management
• Allow time to decide
• Allocate to new meeting.

Closing meetings

When closing a meeting:

• Thank the participants for their time and valuable contributions
• Summarise the meeting topics
• Review actions and assignments
• Clarify that meeting minutes or actions will be reported. Explain the process
• Set the time for the next meeting and ask each person if they can make it or not
• Try to end on a positive note
• Always end meetings on time.